Buds on my tomato plants

Buds on my tomato plants

Fri Mar 04, 2011 4:34 am

Checked my tomato plants today and pulled a few suckers off of them and saw that I have several plants with flowering buds already. I can't wait for the Creoles to start coming in since they are my favorite tomato and what I've grown accustom to every year as my main tomato crop.

Mardi Gras is going to be in full swing this weekend and I'm expecting lots of out of towners to drop by, some to stay for a while, so gardening will take a bit of a back seat.

Marlingardener wrote:You have buds on your tomatoes and the rest of us are thinking about either starting seed or hardening off seedlings to plant in a week or two. Sheesh! Have fun visiting during Mardi Gras, and let the good times roll!

I got a very early start on the Creole tomato plants but the heirlooms are lagging far behind just getting their true leaves a couple days ago. Succession planting this time around to extend the harvest some.

As for Mardi Gras, I hate it. Way too much traffic, huge crowds and lots of requests for lodging from more folks than I can house. That and the fact I ride a motorcycle quite a bit and all those beads lying on the street act like little ball bearings under the tires, making for some interesting turns and braking.

There are lots of wonderful things an avid gardener gets to read on this forum, but, unfortunately, reading about what is already happening in the south is not one of them. Those of us imprisoned in the damn cold north are incredibly jealous of you sunny, warm gardeners in the south. It was 5 below this morning and snow is predicted this afternoon. I'm still three weeks from even planting tomato seeds inside. Life is not fair.

(p.s. by the way, I hope you get a sunburn!)

"Good gardeners do not have green thumbs. They have brown knees, soiled hands and big hearts."

vermontkingdom wrote:There are lots of wonderful things an avid gardener gets to read on this forum, but, unfortunately, reading about what is already happening in the south is not one of them. Those of us imprisoned in the damn cold north are incredibly jealous of you sunny, warm gardeners in the south. It was 5 below this morning and snow is predicted this afternoon. I'm still three weeks from even planting tomato seeds inside. Life is not fair.

(p.s. by the way, I hope you get a sunburn!)

I've only heard about "Cabin Fever" I'm pretty sure there are a couple of paved roads leading south to take you away from all that cold, nasty weather if you were so inclined. I'd be hard pressed to leave though, if for nothing else but the fall colors you experience.

P.S. I don't sunburn, I simply turn different shades of tan to brown as the summer progresses. If I were to bare my bottom, I'd be a much older male version of the Coppertone Girl. Now, try to get that image out of your mind's eye.

alaskagold wrote:gumbo, okay.. what is a creole tomato? explain to this sub-zero person, please.

A Creole tomato is the state vegetable of Louisiana, so designated in 2003. It is mainly grown in large volumes in south Louisiana where soil conditions are quite favorable. The tomato is medium to very large in size and the end by the stem(the corona) is often a bit on the light green to yellow side in color even though the tomato is ripe. It will often have striations near the stem end that look a bit like scars. The tomato itself is very juicy and has a rich flavor.

Of course Louisiana has a Creole Tomato Festival, several in fact, each year. The first ones to market are generally auctioned off for charity and they often bring thousands of dollars for the basket. There is an intense competition to bring the first creole's to market each year. I don't know of a single vegetable gardener that doesn't have several creole tomatoes in their garden if they live in south La.

Marlingardener wrote:Okay Gumbo, it's too late for me for this year, but where do you get the Creole tomato seed? There's always next year. I looked in my extensive stack of seed catalogs and didn't find them. They probably won't be as tasty as those grown in La. (everything tastes better in La.!) but I'd like to give them a try.

I generally buy them by the 6 pack already started and did so this year. I did start my own seeds from the ones I got from my neighbor and they will be ready in a couple weeks to go in the garden.

I've never seen those seeds in catalogs but I called a local nursery and they said Ferry-Morse carries them. They also added that they would likely not taste the same if grown outside south Louisiana. This has a lot to do with the soil where they are grown. In all the years before the levee system was put in place, the Mississippi River would overflow its banks and deposit tons of silt and topsoil carried downriver from up north. This has made for some very good, rich soil in south La. that the Creole's thrive in.

I know they will grow for you, but may not taste quite the same. Oh, and they are heat tolerant and that also has a lot to do with their popularity.

Marlingardener wrote:Okay Gumbo, it's too late for me for this year, but where do you get the Creole tomato seed? There's always next year. I looked in my extensive stack of seed catalogs and didn't find them. They probably won't be as tasty as those grown in La. (everything tastes better in La.!) but I'd like to give them a try.

Me again, I found them at this site----www.heirloomtomatoes.net

I also found some at Reimer Seeds----Gary Ibsen's Tomato Fest-----andPase Seeds

I looked in the Ferry-Morse site and they didn't seem to carry them. Perhaps they just ship them locally since it is the most grown tomato down here.